GAYLETTER

I’m recommending a new podcast! Shocker I know, but this is a good one, and it’s gay! Like really gay. It’s called Nancy, lol, and it’s got some serious pedigree behind it. Produced by WNYC, the station behind the esteemed Radiolab, Nancy is hosted by alums of that show, “BFFs Kathy Tu and Tobin Low.” According to the bio I found on the WNYC website for the duo they are both “super queer, super fun and ready to take over your podcast feed.” I listened to episode number two “Like Two Ken Dolls Being Smashed Together.” It was an exploration of the career of Brandon Lee, who is considered the first Asian top in gay porn. It was a fascinating look into the way Asians are portrayed in gay porn and how stereotypes continue to linger. I’d never really thought about it, but Asians in porn are pretty much always the submissive bottoms. Which is ridiculous, ‘cos there’s plenty of Asian gays who top. It just makes you realize how cliched most depictions of non-white people in porn are. If you’re in the need for a new podcast to add to your feed, Nancy is it! It’s frank, fun and thought provoking. Subscribe!  —tom

The roof has been opened for a little while at the Standard, Highline but, now it feels like the right time to go hang out up there. It’s finally warmer in NYC and it’s time to do more things outdoor, I have already been having drinks at my terrace (which is my fire scape), I am thirsty for the warmer weather and for the chance to leave my apartment. Occupy The Disco, the DJ collective comprised of Josh Appelbaum, DJ RuBot & Tad Haes bring us a new edition of Paradisco at Le Bain at The Standard. We’ve mentioned this party a few times in the past, it has been around for awhile now — they just celebrated their  5th year anniversary last week. For those of you that throw parties, you’ll know that it’s very difficult to keep a party going strong in NYC for that long. Congratulations guys, keep it up! It seems that their formula is working. Rhu Bhatt, one of the DJs, and creators of the party, told me that “it’s a party where the focus is the music, really. We don’t have hosts, go-go-boys etc...we play Disco, House, even some R&B. people can expect good music...” I just checked the weather app on my phone and it says that it’s gonna be sunny and close to 60 degrees. How lovely is that!?  —Abi

Be Cute. It’s a novel concept. Some people are naturally cute, but I do believe that everyone has the ability to be cute. It’s got nothing to do with looks, being cute is an attitude. Being confident is cute. Knowing who you are is cute. Having standards and being clear about them is cute. Wearing a nice outfit and doing your hair is cute. Being nice is cute. And being cute is always cunt. This Saturday the party ‘Be Cute’ is celebrating their 4th year anniversary. I asked one of the hosts, performer, fam friend to the party, Tyler Ashley (pictured), what we should expect and here’s what he had to say: “Be Cute is always the best mixed queer dance party with a lovely...and rowdy...fam, so who the hell knows what will happen — and Horrorchata (the creator of the party) is celebrating 4 years of it!! Expect fierce showz on one of the best drag stages in BK, great beats by the likes of THE JD Samson, and the incredible Empanada Lady NYC serving delicious eats! What more could you want?!” Now that’s how you be cute! Thanks never failing to deliver the cute Tyler. See ya’ll there!  —tom

I was wrote earlier this year in a previous letter that Roberta’s was lit. I wrote about this party when one of our writers/ GAYLETTER family member,  Jonny, who also works at Roberta’s, told us that we had to check it out. Now it’s officially a gay party, we (GAYLETTER) are gonna be co-presenting the event — we are ready for Roberta’s. It’s also Jonny’s Birthday, so it’s all extra special. This is what I told you last time… “It’s like a dance party in their back bar. Kinda small but could be fun if you were in the mood for a Bushwick moment...Yeah it’s queer...good vibes, go go boys, go go girls, cheap drinks and perverts…”  This week is going to be extra fun at Roberta’s Tiki Bar cause we are coming and all of you are joining us. Their FB page is telling you “to do poppers and pass out on the dancefloor...Shag a dude in a dark corner. Indulge in a super alcoholic pink frozen drink. Tell Jonny “Happy Birthday” with a paddle to his ass.” Will do! Music is by Chapman & Harley. Join us right after you watch Rupaul’s Drag Race. It’s your first stop this weekend. See you there!  —Abi

If you search for this podcast on iTunes it will come up as S.Town, but it’s really called Shit Town, and for a good reason. It’s about a town called Woodstock, Alabama, that in many ways fits the profile of the kind of place, filled with the kinds of people that put Trump in the Whitehouse. The podcast starts when This American Life reporter, Brian Reed, gets an email from a middle aged gay man in Woodstock name John B. McLemore, alerting him to a supposed murder cover up by his town’s police department. Brian goes to Woodstock to meet John and investigate the cover up. It turns out that the alleged murder, isn’t a murder at all, but that’s when the series takes a sharp turn, which if tell you about it right now, will ruin all the fun. The focus of the podcast is the town, but also John, who is brilliantly smart, funny and...complicated. Shit Town is produced by the same crew as Serial, and like that podcast it’s addictive. It’s only 7 episodes long, and all are available to listen to right now.  —tom

What a cute idea for a boozy Sunday brunch! You get to listen to Daft Punk and French disco, and here’s the best part, for the $10 ticket price, you also get two mimosas. That’s a pretty good deal. Where else can you get two mimosas for $10? Nowhere, that’s where! “DJs Jamie Antonelli (Nurvous Records) Salinger (Medium Rare / The Deep) and guests will be playing French Touch, Disco House and plenty of Daft Punk. Photos by Nicky Digital. Visuals by Funk Taxi. "Food will be available throughout the event. Come eat, drink and dance with us!” They also have some “Bottomless Brunch packages still available” so start that group text ASAP and get your weekend brunch plans in order, K?  —tom

The name of this party speaks to me because my friend William and I got stoned the other night (for a change, lol) and were discussing some ideas about how to do fake nudes. I still have that paper with some of those ideas, so who knows, you might see some appearing in GAYLETTER. It seems that with all the ridiculous censorship going around on social media, fake nudes is a good approach. Chatting with Paul Tomasiello (one of the creators) of the party via FB, he told me that he got the name from the orange clown in the WH saying: “fake news.” “I thought it’d be funny to play off that and use fake celebrity nudes for the flyers.” He told me that he started the party in February with his friends Candy and Sookie Sterling (these queens are cute — they just helped us host a Drag Race viewing at ACE hotel). This one will be the third time they are doing the party. We also heard from Candy and she added that the event is “for queers and queens and the people that love them. Great music, backyard open all night, we usually do 2-3 sets of shows. Great vibes. Warm, friendly...Our performances usually consist of me slamming my pelvis into the floor to a disco track and Sookie charming every man in the audience for tips.” Also, this night they’ll be celebrating the birthday of Philip Sieverding, he’s lovely, he was in our poppers shoot for Issue 5. Now, we want to see some real nudes, DM us!  —Abi

Come one come all to this multimedia exhibit that seeks to celebrate one of Lesbian-Rights most notable coalitions. Formed in 1992 during a surge of misogyny, and anti-gay, white nationalist hate, the Lesbian Avengers was created in NYC to focus, and work, on issues that were essential to lesbian visibility and survival. On view at the lovely BGSQD at The Center, Friday’s opening will include readings by the uber-cool Eileen Myles and Sassafras Lowrey. Both of these writers have made it a point to celebrate sexuality and challenge gender in their literary works. The first time I read the lines: “I thought / Well I’ll be a poet. / What could be more / foolish and obscure. / I became a lesbian” from Myles’ “An American Poem,” I nearly fell over. I was a junior in college trying to figure out how a queer voice could claim real space in the literature landscape. Myles was already paving the goddamn way. The exhibit will catalog various flyers, photographs, posters, slide shows and more, all from scenes of the Avengers activism. What will begin at BGSQD will travel to various spots around the country, so anyone who was involved at the time can get a chance to commemorate their important work. Stop by and have a look — if you were involved in the past, they’re asking for your participation again!

Act Up was started in 1987 as a response to the AIDS crisis. Gays were dropping like fucking flies and surprise, surprise, the hetero, white majority who ran this country didn’t give a shit. Remember when Ebola was a thing a few years back? Remember how that one straight, white doctor returned from Africa to New York with the virus and the whole fucking country jumped into action to stop it from spreading? That was the opposite to what happened when AIDS was killing, not one, but thousands of gay men across the country in the early 80’s. When a smart, responsible reporter named Lester Kinsolving decided to do his job and ask Reagan’s press secretary, Larry Speakes, about the epidemic in 1982, he was laughed at. “'What’s AIDS?' Speakes asked.” “It’s known as the ‘gay plague,'” Kinsolving replied. “I don’t have it,” Speakes replied. “Do you?” At this point 20,849 people in the United States had died of the disease. The president wouldn’t even say the word “AIDS” until 1985. Act Up was a response to a criminal and callous government who was so blinded by their homophobia they willfully let thousands die. I couldn’t think of a better group to celebrate than Act Up, this Thursday, March 30th at their 30th Anniversary March and Rally. And I couldn’t think of a better time to recommit to protecting the lives of LGBTQ people across the country, and the world.  —tom